Okay, so I had some thoughts. It hurt for a minute, but I had them anyway. Here are some of my thoughts on politics on a warm summer day with no budget and an economy in turmoil:
Karen Bass - She went to LA over the weekend. She couldn't make it back for a Sunday budget meeting. She was unsure what flight she could make it on from LA to Sacramento. There are so many things wrong with this. Where do I start?
You went to LA? You decided to hop a plane back to Los Angeles when there is no budget? Do you realize that your main job, your only job, right now is to pass a budget? And you left? You earn over $100,000 per year and you thought this was a good time to go home? Really? You clearly have absolutely no concept about anything in real life. You are not expected to go home during a crisis but to lead. Lead means you cancel whatever the heck you have planned and stay here until the job is done. I keep calling you incompetent but I do not think that is a strong enough word. You are idiotically incompetent. (A little alliteration for our English majors reading this.)
You couldn't get back from LA? Its about 400 miles. How about the first plane in the morning? Or the second? Or you hop in a car and drive. Or you don't go. Oh wait, sorry I already had that portion of the rant. I don't want to pull a Karen Bass and be unable to complete a freaking thought. By the way, you should really return that college degree, which you think is a colledge deGre, since you clearly do not have the ability to think analytically. Isn't this like a 4th grade word problem? The Speaker of the Assembly is in LA. The State has no budget. She needs to be at a meeting at 2pm. It is 400 miles from LA to Sacramento. How can she get to Sacramento? A) High speed rail. B) Car. C) Plane. D) None of the above.
A is clearly wrong since there is no money for high speed rail in California. We have money to pay our legislators, but we have no money for high speed rail. B is wrong since apparently she has no driver's license or maybe she drives like Carol Migden - poorly and all over the road. C cannot be correct since she did not have enough flight options. There are only like 30 flights a day between LA and Sacramento. That doesn't even include her paying to rent a plane. I am sure she would charge the state, but a responsible leader would have paid for it out of his/her own money since it was his/her problem. Apparently, D is the right answer. It is probably the grade that showed up most on her report card in school.
Hey Karen - do me a favor? If your current brain is not functioning, go see Dr. Hfuhruhurr. Maybe he can help you. Or, here is an idea, quit now. Please? I got $20 if you quit. I am sure I can raise a bit more. Please?
Okay, so I know banks can't think, but how about their leaders. Banks spent $4.4 million on lobbying in California alone in the first quarter of this year. That is $4,400,000. That is $4 million plus another 10% of that. That is ridiculous.
Let me see if I get this right: the economy sucks. It sucks because of the housing meltdown. It sucks because banks made bad mortgages to people who shouldn't have had the mortgages. It was so bad for banks that they needed tax money to survive. Now they have an extra $4 million or so to lobby the government. And what are they lobbying on?
Two big topics for the banks: they don't want more disclosures to consumers on home loans and they don't want consumers to have legal representation when trying to deal with the banks. So, the banks are spending our money on trying to limit our rights. And the government gives this to them with no restrictions. Our leaders in the California Senate and the California Assembly are so blinded by money that they take this money and don't see it as a problem. They are taking tax money back from the banks to keep the banks from having any oversight and any checks and balances in the system.
Memo to the banks - if you couldn't run your business profitably, stop spending my money on your lobbying. I don't want you to spend the money trying to gouge consumers more.
Maybe Karen Bass and the people running the banks came from the same place - a place where responsibility is just not taught. Banks couldn't run a business without government bailout and now waste our money on lobbying. Bass can't even make it to LA for a meeting. OY!
Showing posts with label Karen Bass. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Karen Bass. Show all posts
Monday, July 20, 2009
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Our State Leaders at Work Again
I don't know about the rest of you, but I am tired of our state leaders. The "Big 5" as they are called should really be called the "We can't get our heads out of our arses 5." This would be the Governor, the Speaker of the Assembly, the Senate Leader and the two minority party leaders from the Senate and the Assembly. For those of you keeping track, that would be Arnold, Darrell "I think I am a lot smarter than I really am" Steinberg, Karen "I couldn't get out of my own way if you paid me $1,000,000 but I am sure I would say something dumb" Bass, and two Republicans who change regularly.
So, Arnold is proposing another furlough day for state workers. Karen Bass says "More furloughs mean more foreclosures." Really? Are you sure? Did you come up with that pearl of wisdom yourself? Of course, you are also supporting legislation that will mean more foreclosures (see AB 764). (Memo to Dave Jones: I know you read this stuff so if you want to avoid my wrath, you shouldn't do dumb things.)
But now these folks have somehow come up with $4,000,000 to pay for Jacko's funeral. That is $4 million. That would be enough money to pay for a whole lot of stuff! For Michael Jackson. Dude has Neverland and the Beatles collection of songs, but we need to pay for his funeral. Really? We have that money laying around.
Hey Karen Bass: $4,000,000 means less foreclosures. Less. That means fewer. That means more people keep their homes. That means less homeless people. That is a good thing. But you blew that money you freaking useless quote machine. $4,000,000 would also pay for a new speechwriter for you so you can at least sound intelligent. I don't want you to actually spend that money on a speechwriter, since the $130,000 or so you get paid already is wasted money. Of course, you could also use that money to go back to college. Wait, I am sorry, your incompetent leadership is one reason many people can no longer afford college, you crazy lady.
Hey Darrell: I know they don't teach business classes in law school (and that is a whole different rant) but I am sure you learned this in like 5th grade. You cannot have negative money. Yet, somehow, you managed to keep us in the same ridiculous cycle. And you allow our state to spend $4,000,000 we don't have. How exactly does that work? I mean, you must be smart - you went to law school. It was a UC school, so maybe you aren't as smart as we thought since you are slowly limiting the number of people who can afford to go to your alma mater. Do you not understand that your expenses must be equal to or less than your income? Is that concept too difficult for you? If so, maybe you should resign and we should get someone, anyone, who can figure out how to do math.
Darrell and Karen are a disgrace and we let them continue to lead. And where do we get the money to pay for a funeral? Should we pay for a funeral for everyone else who dies this year? What makes Michael more special than kid who drowned in his pool this week? Because he could sing? Sure, but he also spent money disfiguring himself. Should we spend money on the funeral of a cutter who dies? What about the anorexic who dies? That person disfigured herself too. Is Wacko Jacko more special?
I admit it. He could sing. He could dance. He could sleep in bed with little children - allegedly. He could hang his kid, Prince, upside down from a hotel balcony. He could go from black to white. He was like anti-black face, or white face. So what makes him special? I know lots of people who can sing and dance and don't try to change their skin color. Should we pay for their funerals too?
I just don't get it. We have no money. Our state workers now have a 15% pay cut. They are going to be looking at a fourth furlough day or another 5% pay cut. And somehow we have money to spend on this freak's funeral. Really? Where, exactly, is that money coming from? Are Steinberg and Bass paying for it with their complete inability to strike a budget deal? Is the Governor going to pay for it with his personal fortune from his roid days? I sure as heck am not going to pay for this. It is a complete embarrassment for our state and another example of the complete lack of leadership of our alleged leaders.
So, Arnold is proposing another furlough day for state workers. Karen Bass says "More furloughs mean more foreclosures." Really? Are you sure? Did you come up with that pearl of wisdom yourself? Of course, you are also supporting legislation that will mean more foreclosures (see AB 764). (Memo to Dave Jones: I know you read this stuff so if you want to avoid my wrath, you shouldn't do dumb things.)
But now these folks have somehow come up with $4,000,000 to pay for Jacko's funeral. That is $4 million. That would be enough money to pay for a whole lot of stuff! For Michael Jackson. Dude has Neverland and the Beatles collection of songs, but we need to pay for his funeral. Really? We have that money laying around.
Hey Karen Bass: $4,000,000 means less foreclosures. Less. That means fewer. That means more people keep their homes. That means less homeless people. That is a good thing. But you blew that money you freaking useless quote machine. $4,000,000 would also pay for a new speechwriter for you so you can at least sound intelligent. I don't want you to actually spend that money on a speechwriter, since the $130,000 or so you get paid already is wasted money. Of course, you could also use that money to go back to college. Wait, I am sorry, your incompetent leadership is one reason many people can no longer afford college, you crazy lady.
Hey Darrell: I know they don't teach business classes in law school (and that is a whole different rant) but I am sure you learned this in like 5th grade. You cannot have negative money. Yet, somehow, you managed to keep us in the same ridiculous cycle. And you allow our state to spend $4,000,000 we don't have. How exactly does that work? I mean, you must be smart - you went to law school. It was a UC school, so maybe you aren't as smart as we thought since you are slowly limiting the number of people who can afford to go to your alma mater. Do you not understand that your expenses must be equal to or less than your income? Is that concept too difficult for you? If so, maybe you should resign and we should get someone, anyone, who can figure out how to do math.
Darrell and Karen are a disgrace and we let them continue to lead. And where do we get the money to pay for a funeral? Should we pay for a funeral for everyone else who dies this year? What makes Michael more special than kid who drowned in his pool this week? Because he could sing? Sure, but he also spent money disfiguring himself. Should we spend money on the funeral of a cutter who dies? What about the anorexic who dies? That person disfigured herself too. Is Wacko Jacko more special?
I admit it. He could sing. He could dance. He could sleep in bed with little children - allegedly. He could hang his kid, Prince, upside down from a hotel balcony. He could go from black to white. He was like anti-black face, or white face. So what makes him special? I know lots of people who can sing and dance and don't try to change their skin color. Should we pay for their funerals too?
I just don't get it. We have no money. Our state workers now have a 15% pay cut. They are going to be looking at a fourth furlough day or another 5% pay cut. And somehow we have money to spend on this freak's funeral. Really? Where, exactly, is that money coming from? Are Steinberg and Bass paying for it with their complete inability to strike a budget deal? Is the Governor going to pay for it with his personal fortune from his roid days? I sure as heck am not going to pay for this. It is a complete embarrassment for our state and another example of the complete lack of leadership of our alleged leaders.
Monday, February 16, 2009
California's Budget
Okay, so here we are on February 16, 2009. This is a day we celebrate great Presidents in our past. George Washington - the man who cut down the cherry tree and our first President. Abraham Lincoln - the man who freed the slaves and was a great orator.
Yet, those of us who live in California do not see greatness when we look at our state Capitol. We see a mess. A lack of leadership. People who can't seem to find their way out of a paperbag. How bad is it? These people think they should tax their way out of a recession!
Okay, I know I stopped studying economics in undergrad. But, last time I checked, when you tax people, they spend less. So, what do our leaders do? A 1% sales tax increase. Okay, not bad. Then a 12 cent per gallon increase on the gas tax. So, each gallon of gas, which is already crazy expensive, will now go up by another 12 cents. For a 10 gallon car, that is a $1.20 increase. If you fill that up 2 times per week, we have over $100 per year less money to spend.
This is a tax that impacts lower income people disproportionately. While many upper class people can afford an extra $100 per year, if you make 50% less, that impacts you greater. So, a $100 tax on someone make $100,000 per year is very small. The same $100 tax on someone who makes $25,000 is quite large.
Yet, our government thinks this is the way out of the budget. Lets make people give us more money so we have money to spend. Not sure if they are aware of this, but if I give them more money, I have less money to give to businesses. Less money to buy things means the recession drags on.
Then, these geniuses decide that they should link this tax to a special election. Yes, we are going to have a special election in May in California. Special elections cost money. Oh that's right - we don't have any. Why don't we have any? Because the legislators spent it all!
Now, I understand we need to raise revenue. I am not anti-tax. I am just anti-unreasonable tax. Almost doubling the gas tax is unreasonable.
I think we should tax legislators. Yes, we should take their income and double the tax they pay. And we should double the tax of every past legislator for the last 10 years. Sure, it may be unconstitutional, but then maybe these morons will understand that not doing their job properly was unconstitutional as well.
Okay, here is a better idea: all of that money that these folks keep in accounts to run for new office should go to the deficit. They raise millions and millions of dollars to run for a new office when they haven't even done their jobs. Lets take that money!
Look you folks who are sitting in the Capitol and sleeping there: you should have done this months ago, if not years ago. Don't cry to me, Karen Bass, because you can't get a deal done now. You waited too long. You have no power. You should resign, and not just as speaker, but from the Assembly. You too, Darrel Steinberg. Your time has past. You failed to do your job - protect the residents of the state of California. Instead, you padded your own pocketbook.
Every member of the California legislature should resign now so you don't go down in history as the most incompetent group of people to even run a state. Assuming its not too late for that!
Yet, those of us who live in California do not see greatness when we look at our state Capitol. We see a mess. A lack of leadership. People who can't seem to find their way out of a paperbag. How bad is it? These people think they should tax their way out of a recession!
Okay, I know I stopped studying economics in undergrad. But, last time I checked, when you tax people, they spend less. So, what do our leaders do? A 1% sales tax increase. Okay, not bad. Then a 12 cent per gallon increase on the gas tax. So, each gallon of gas, which is already crazy expensive, will now go up by another 12 cents. For a 10 gallon car, that is a $1.20 increase. If you fill that up 2 times per week, we have over $100 per year less money to spend.
This is a tax that impacts lower income people disproportionately. While many upper class people can afford an extra $100 per year, if you make 50% less, that impacts you greater. So, a $100 tax on someone make $100,000 per year is very small. The same $100 tax on someone who makes $25,000 is quite large.
Yet, our government thinks this is the way out of the budget. Lets make people give us more money so we have money to spend. Not sure if they are aware of this, but if I give them more money, I have less money to give to businesses. Less money to buy things means the recession drags on.
Then, these geniuses decide that they should link this tax to a special election. Yes, we are going to have a special election in May in California. Special elections cost money. Oh that's right - we don't have any. Why don't we have any? Because the legislators spent it all!
Now, I understand we need to raise revenue. I am not anti-tax. I am just anti-unreasonable tax. Almost doubling the gas tax is unreasonable.
I think we should tax legislators. Yes, we should take their income and double the tax they pay. And we should double the tax of every past legislator for the last 10 years. Sure, it may be unconstitutional, but then maybe these morons will understand that not doing their job properly was unconstitutional as well.
Okay, here is a better idea: all of that money that these folks keep in accounts to run for new office should go to the deficit. They raise millions and millions of dollars to run for a new office when they haven't even done their jobs. Lets take that money!
Look you folks who are sitting in the Capitol and sleeping there: you should have done this months ago, if not years ago. Don't cry to me, Karen Bass, because you can't get a deal done now. You waited too long. You have no power. You should resign, and not just as speaker, but from the Assembly. You too, Darrel Steinberg. Your time has past. You failed to do your job - protect the residents of the state of California. Instead, you padded your own pocketbook.
Every member of the California legislature should resign now so you don't go down in history as the most incompetent group of people to even run a state. Assuming its not too late for that!
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